A Nourishing Life

Category Archives: 12wbt

Good news: the Hubby has lost weight. How much I cannot tell you as we didn’t weigh in today because we ate three donuts before bed last night. I know, right? It was one of those impulse buys that we later regretted but couldn’t face throwing our money in the bin. We’re only human, moving forward!

The excitement of the program wore off about week 3. Lately we went off track – we went on holiday for 3 days, and then I was sick (or as sick as a mother can be) and I didn’t cook or clean or do anything. Seriously, I didn’t even take O outside to play, how bad a mother am I?! TV was a great baby sitter and guilt washed over me but no more – outside it is!

I’m still hating the low-fat-everything and the ricotta-in-most-recipes thing about Michelle Bridges. But I substitute as best I can. Dairy has still been in our diet lately and I’m having mixed feelings about it!

The meals in general are great. I’ve printed lots off, changed them slightly to suit (less cheese, more veggies!) and have stuffed them in a folder as I will definitely be using these in our weekly meal plans once the program is over.

We eat the same snacks as always (apricot bliss balls, pop corn, fruit, veggies and homemade dip etc) but watch our portion sizes as this is the Hubby’s downfall (what can I say, I make tasty snacks!).

We haven’t exercised in 3 weeks. When we resume (next week hopefully) I think we’ll be so far behind that we will have to start off at the week 3 program which is fine by me. I was loving the workouts, they made me feel strong and empowered!

So there you have it, we’ve fallen off the bandwagon with a pile of donuts in our lap, but we are staying strong and resuming project 12WBT! The donuts were tasty, I will admit. I barely regret it 😉

I’m now 2 days into week 2 of the 12WBT and I’ve still got mixed feelings about it.

Apart from what I mentioned before regarding food colouring, sugar, low-fat options and a shit tonne of ricotta cheese, it hasn’t been that bad! I’ve been liking 90% of the meals, and I love having new recipes to try and play with.

What I don’t like is controlling my calories, when I eat, how often I eat etc. In fact it leads me to over eat, binge on snacks, and beat myself up for it. Hardly healthy. So we’ve decided that seeing as I don’t’ need to lose weight and was healthy and maintaining it fine before this program, that I’d just eat what I want and when I want, but have the same meals as the Hubby and not keep shit in the house to tempt him. I don’t need to come out of this with a freakin’ eating disorder!

Anyway here are some pics of our meals last week:

1. Rice fritters with a mango chutney/salsa. Olivia liked the fritters but this would be very bland without the stuff on top!

2. Pistachio, hazelnut and cranberry biscotti’s about to go back in the oven.

The exercise part is okay. I’d like to work out with my husband but his work hours don’t always permit this so often I’m going on the walks by myself. Well, with Olivia… who wants to hop out the pram and walk herself but this is VERY. SLOW. GOING. Kind of defeats the purpose of the exercise as it doesn’t get my heart rate up at all! The toning part is awesome as that’s what I’m into. I also do yoga on Wednesday night’s and managed to drag the Hubby with me last week. Ah what a session he got to experience! We were sweating and groaning by the end of it… yoga is hard work, man! I love my weekly yoga (would go more often if I could afford it!) but it doesn’t always challenge me like it did last week. I also went horse riding for 2 hours on Sunday which, despite what most people think, is certainly a work out.

Weigh in is tomorrow but as I’m trying to maintain my weight (something I was successfully doing on my own before starting this) I’m not that excited… but I’m anxious for the Hubby! People in this round are posting on the forum of losses up to 10kg! Obviously it depends how big you are to start with, how much weight you have to lose, and how different this eating is to what you did previously.

The main things I’ve noticed is this: I’ve always loved my veggies but the plan has got me eating more, which is a win in my books. I’m off to eat a fruit salad now!

In case you didn’t notice, January has flown on past and February has landed in our laps with a thud. Why does the first month of the year always go so quick?

The month started off great with our weekend full! On Saturday we did our fitness test in the morning while O’s Granma and Pa took her to the local markets. Gosh that test almost killed me. Running is just not my thing. 2 days on and my shins are still making me cry with every step. I didn’t even run that far, I’m so unfit. But not for long! We did grocery shopping and bought most of our fruit and veg at the local farm. Check out our haul:

Aunty Lauren came around in the evening while we were all splashing around in the paddle pool. The weather has been so lovely lately, minus the humidity!

Olivia was 16 months old yesterday. We went shopping for some workout gear for me (finally, tick!) and then came home and Olivia and her Daddy had a nap while I did food prep for the week ahead. Some have the life, right? Then we dropped O off with my folks so the Hubby and I could go on a date… Woo! We had amazing pizza at the Station Bar and a sneaky drink or two. It was so nice to be out and pay each other our full attention. But it still feels so rushed for some reason.

So here are my intentions for this month…

Sprout more often. I’ve got all the fancy equipment here to do it, so there’s no excuses.

Go exploring with O more often – along the street, at the park, in the shops… wherever.

Less Wiggles time for her. It’s just so easy to whack an 11 minute episode of the colourful dudes on while I do the dishes but it’s no good for her… especially when it’s 3 or 4 times a day (oops).

I hate counting calories. I believe it’s an unhealthy habit. There, I said it. It leads to obsession and then guilt when you eat over your allocated calories. And what about fat, protein, carbs, sodium, sugar, minerals, vitamins etc… they are just as important! Focus on them! I understand people who are overweight need to look at their calories in order to lose weight. I understand weightloss is 80% food. I understand the main factor for gaining weight is the calories. But for me (who doesn’t need to lose, but just tone up) I’m finding it hard to think like this.

So why am I doing this 12WBT? For my husband. He needs me. He needs the support. He needs my commitment and I’m his wife… of course I will do it. I’m excited about the exercise part of this program but not so much about the food – my diet is so particular these days: superfoods every day, raw as much as possible, vegetarian/vegan for most meals, no dairy, limited gluten, no refined sugar. And we definitely try to avoid additives, preservatives, colouring etc. And clearly it works – I’ve been the healthiest and lightest I’ve ever been as an adult. Yes, post baby too!

Something I’ve noticed with the 12WBT is a lot of recipes have sugar. And colouring! One dessert had food dye in the ingredients. Whaaat! Not to mention Michelle is big on low-fat options. No no no! Remove the fat and it’s replaced with other shit! And she uses a shit load of ricotta in her recipes. No good for the lactose intolerant/sensitive (meaning Olivia… which also means me until she weans). I think there should be a focus on a healthy lifestyle, not just losing the weight. Being skinny doesn’t mean you are healthy.

The meal plan has lots of meat but luckily you can change it to vegetarian and then filter the recipes even more with options like “lactose free” or “gluten free”. It does then become very limiting but I think in a few weeks time when we have this down pat I’ll add some of our usual recipes, but count the calories for the Hubby.

So pre-season is done. Tomorrow we do some food prep for the week ahead. The rest of the list is looking good… Shopping, tick. Fitness test, tick. Measurments, tick. Before photo, tick! Workout gear… need to do! I need a supportive bra. I don’t wear underwire because I breastfeed and I live in the Bonds feeding singlets which has an inbuilt bra. But I need a proper underwire workout bra if I’m going to exercise every day. And I will invest in some thick socks… say no to blisters!

MEASUREMENTS

Height: 164cm

Weight: 57.5kg

Body Fat: 23.9%

Chest: 94.2cm (not fair, I have big milk-filled breasts!)

Waist: 74cm

Hips: 90cm

Arms: 25cm

Thigh: 47.4cm

Distance from knee: 26cm

FITNESS TEST

Continuous Push Ups (on knees): 16

Plank (on knees): 1:35

Sit + Reach: +11.5cm

Wall Sit: 1:08

1km Time Trial: 6:55

My result was actually pretty good and I am fitter than I thought. I’ve been recommended to do the “intermediate” program but I’m sticking with beginner for now! Why not try the above fitness test and see how you went?

So. I’m completely against diets. I’m not into all the “health programs” out there. Which is really just another word for diet, right? I’m of a healthy weight (lighter than ever in my adult life) and have a healthy relationship with my body. I never thought having a baby would make me happier with my body but it’s true.

However, I’m not fit.

If you challenged me to a foot race, I can promise you you’d win. Even if I gave 100%. And I can promise you I’d get black eyes from my boobs. Ugh. I can’t even tell you the last time I did deliberate exercise. The only muscles that exist are in my arms from holding Olivia and next in line are my fingers from scrolling my Instagram feed non-stop. Seriously, I get cramps.

This part isn’t is my story to tell but the Hubby has battled weight his entire life. One night we went through his childhood medical records and found a hospital visit that had “obese” written on it… he was under 10 years old. Pretty disturbing. In his adult life he has done well to lose weight, get fit and start a healthy lifestyle. But it’s up and down, back and forth, for him. Life gets busy, time is short bla bla, we deal with the same excuses as everyone else. And he is still overweight and keen to shift it.

But when a kid is on the scene it feels paramount to have your weight and health in check. I mean, this little being in your care is looking up to you. You are it’s example, it’s light, it’s model. I know for the Hubby that he also wants to change for his own reasons – he wants to feel good, comfortable, confident. He wants to reach overhead and not have to worry if his gut is showing. He wants to prove that he can beat all odds.

In the years we’ve been together we’ve tried lots of tactics. CSIRO eating plan, bootcamp, personal training, juice fasts etc etc.. Some have worked and others haven’t. And since Olivia was born we’ve really changed how we eat and live. We are pretty much vegetarian if not vegan. Just not strict! Come on, cheese is so good! We eat lots of raw food, lots of veggies, we avoid dairy, gluten and refined sugar. And while this feels like the optimum eating and health for me personally, my man is still struggling with his weight. I mean, we don’t exercise one bit so I’m sure that doesn’t help! But it was time we tried something else, for his sake.

And being the awesome supportive wifey that I am, I told him I am totally on board with whatever he wants to do. So that’s why in 5 days we are starting the 12WBT – Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation. I’ve heard about it before and seen a lot of success stories with it. I signed up because a) being in it will mean I’m more committed and will therefore be able to better support the Hubby and b) apparently it’s not just for losing weight but also for toning, getting fit and stronger. Turns out there are others on the forum who do not need or want to lose weight, so I’m not alone. And while it’s mostly women doing the 12WBT (I’d say at least 80%?) it’s been good to see other men have signed up for this round. You can check the website out here.

I’ll be documenting our journey through the next 12 weeks here on my blog. Wish us luck and success!